Ruth Moore Act of 2015

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 16, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Ruth Moore Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report to Congress, by December 1, 2015 and each year thereafter through 2019, on claims submitted during the previous fiscal year for disability compensation based on a covered mental health condition alleged to have been incurred or aggravated by military sexual trauma (covered claims).

Each report shall include:

• the number of covered claims submitted or considered;
• the number and percentage of such claims submitted by each sex, and the number of claims approved or denied;
• the number and percentage, listed by each sex, of approved covered claims assigned to each rating percentage;
• the three most common reasons for denial of covered claims, and the number of denials based on the veteran's failure to report for a medical examination;
• the number of covered claims pending and the number on appeal;
• the average number of days that covered claims take to complete; and
• a description of related training provided to Veterans Benefits Administration employees.

The VA shall submit to Congress an initial report within 90 days after enactment of this Act, and annual reports beginning in December 2015.

It is the sense of Congress that the VA should update regulations regarding military sexual trauma by:

• ensuring that military sexual trauma is specified as an in-service stressor in determining the service-connection of post-traumatic stress disorder, and
• recognizing the full range of physical and mental disabilities (including depression, anxiety, and other disabilities as indicated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association) that can result from military sexual trauma.

For the period starting fifteen months after enactment of this Act and lasting until VA publishes updated regulations, the VA shall provide:

• a copy of the congressional report to each veteran who has submitted a covered claim or been treated for military sexual trauma at a VA medical facility; and
• monthly to each such veteran information that includes the date that the VA plans to complete such updated regulations, the number of granted or denied covered claims, a comparison to the rate of grants and denials with the rate for other claims regarding post-traumatic stress disorder, the three most common reasons for claim denials, and the average time for processing covered claims at each regional office.

The VA shall report to Congress monthly regarding: (1) all adjudicated covered claims and their outcomes, and (2) the reason for denial of any covered claim.

(Sec. 3) The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 is amended to limit to $2 million during each of FY2016-FY2018 the aggregate amount of awards and bonuses paid to VA employees who are members of the Senior Executive Service.